of President Markham, who had received a ninety five million dollar deposit into an unknown Swiss bank account and whose second uncle is Professor Borgias Bart. Professor Bart, a lead scientist at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) facility in Meyrin, west of Geneva, Switzerland whose information was instrumental in the group destroying the Grey Wolves production facility.
The Grey Wolves, a Turkish style mafia, that a splinter group had formed from by the ex director of MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Organisation). The group was predominately operating as a mercenary group. They had developed a lucrative illegal arms and diamond business and were also intent on producing nuclear armalites. Destruction of this group, its leader and two US associates had been Wade’s latest mission. The two high profile associates, US Vice President Daniel Cooper and Chief of CIA International Affairs Marcus Smithwright. Both men had become corrupted with their desire for power and money, oblivious to the consequences. As the US Vice President an enquiry had commenced, until the powers at the highest level of US administration, had learnt of Cooper’s intentions and then all proceedings were ceased and any findings were lost in archives. As far as the world was concerned Cooper died in an accident.
“Before you leave I need to organise a meeting with you and the President. When are you available?” asked Forest looking directly at Wade.
“General, I do appreciate what the President and you are asking but not right now,” replied Wade as he grabbed a 9mm Heckler & Koch from the side table, checked the magazine was full and headed for the door. With Crystal following he turned to Joe, “You coming?”
Baltimore
The drive to Ryan Cotterill’s apartment, downtown Baltimore, had been uneventful with the discussion focused on bullet casings and the possible location of production facilities. Joe used his CIA badge to gain access past the security guard and into the luxury facility. Taking the elevator to the twelfth floor they approached the apartment door and Wade immediately noticed the fine scratching’s beside the handle. Checking for surveillance cameras he motioned to Joe to move to the side of the door whilst he pushed Crystal back against the wall. Bringing his index finger to his mouth, indicating no noise, he ensured a round was chambered in his pistol and reached for the door handle.
The door was unlocked. Wade pushed it fully open and leading with his pistol, entered the apartment. Ensuring his eyes and the pistol were always as one he scanned arcs of fire and crept forward keeping hard against the wall. Lights were on with the television playing an evening soapie. Halfway down the corridor he saw the walls splattered from floor to ceiling in blood and the two bodies. A young girl was lying face down atop a young man and both had been shot at point blank range. The carpet around the bodies was saturated with dried blood. Touching the bloodied carpet and studying the bullet wounds Wade deducted they had been shot twelve to twenty four hours earlier.
Joe and Wade checked the remainder of the apartment and returned to the bodies.
“Any thoughts?” asked Joe.
“Well … they’ve been shot with a hollow point from about two metres and there doesn’t appear to be anything else touched,” replied Wade still searching for any further evidence. “Did you notice that something was used to open the door lock?” he asked without looking up.
“I did but that’s not going to help us much.”
“Look at this,” remarked Crystal as she walked from the bedroom unfolding a scrunched card. The card was the inverted Opus Dei symbol with the name IED SUPO and the words underneath Punishment to all for Eternity. SC
Looking at the card Joe was the first to speak. “What the hell does all that mean?”
Still studying the card Crystal replied, “The picture is the Opus Dei symbol as viewed inverted or looking from a mirror and IED SUPO is the name Opus Dei viewed the same way. I don’t know what the words underneath mean because they don’t really go with the Opus Dei philosophy but I do feel I have seen it somewhere before.”
“Opus Dei! Second time today we’ve heard this. What is it,” asked Joe.
“Opus Dei is an organisation within the Catholic Church. It teaches that everyone should aspire to be a saint. It is mainly directed to the common people and their ordinary lives. It is predominately a teaching facility but there are many who believe its secrecy hides a cult of deception and cruelty,” replied Crystal still not looking up from the card.
“So there is a possibility this is associated with some religious cult?” asked Joe again.
“I don’t think so,” said Wade as he walked behind Crystal and put his hand over hers and covered the card. “Let’s call the General and he can get a team in here while we pay whoever is watching the CCTV a visit.”
After discussing with the General they left the apartment and proceeded downstairs to the security comms room. Spending the next hour going over security tapes they deducted that the assassin had come into the building, waited many hours and then dressed in black, and a baseball cap, had gone about the execution. Again waiting many hours, he then left the building. The number of people entering and leaving made the deduction process impossible. They noticed no distinguishing features and knew it was a dead end.
Warehouse
After sending the information, of their discovery through, Kia had been using her contacts in Mossad to help with the deciphering. Joe and an aide were perusing forensic reports and discussing possibilities. Wade and Crystal were at the far end of the large meeting room talking about Opus Dei.
“I became very interested in the Catholic religion when I was old enough for my father to tell me about my mother’s beliefs. My mother was of Columbian decent and her family had strong ties to the catholic missionaries, who worked in Columbia, and especially those associated with the orphanages. As a young girl, growing up, she saw the missionaries helping the elderly; the sick, the children and she believed they had been sent by god to help her and her people. I wanted to understand what my mother had felt. It was through this studying that I learnt about groups, like the Opus Dei. I believe that those associated with it are mostly trying to do good but there are definitely others who feel it is an organisation hiding something and therefore is evil,” remarked Crystal.
“What are your thoughts on the symbols being reversed?”
“I’m not sure but the words below remind me of a pagan event, I read about, where the leader was enticing his followers to their death as a means of immortality … or something like that.”
“Well that is cheerful news,” replied Wade looking up as Forest and a small, balding, stooped, pale man with bulging eyes entered the room.
“Can I have your attention? This is Professor Faux End and he is from the Academy of the Study of Religious Developments at The George Washington University. He specialises in the study of cults. He has agreed to help us try and understand what we are dealing with here.”
“Thank you General. Firstly, I don’t believe this has anything to do with the Opus Dei but merely somebody or some organisation using the symbols and the name to throw you off track. What I can help with is the words. Approximately five hundred years ago a Bulgarian monk used them. He had been excommunicated from a religious order and vowed revenge. He set about evoking fear into the local farmers and serfs by hunting them and their families at night; destroying their homes and farms and all the time giving the impression he was the devil reincarnated. He used the words to force them to join him or they would perish into purgatory forever. He was eventually killed but it is believed the cult lived on and
